OKC’s defense has been pretty good so far against the Nuggets

In just about every way you could measure it, the Nuggets had the league’s best offense this season. They led the league in points per game (107.5) and offensive efficiency (109.5). In terms of eFG% they were second at 52.56 percent. They topped the league also in free throw rate (36.7).

But in the three games versus the Thunder? That offense hasn’t been anything close to what it was.

In the three games thus far, the Nuggets are averaging just 95.3 points per game. Their overall field goal percentage is down almost six percent, their offensive efficiency is just 98.76 and while their free throw attempts have held firm, they’re making way less.

Stop and think about that. The top offense in the entire league is scoring more than 10 points fewer per 100 possessions. In a game where things are getting slowed down to around 90 possessions a game, that means the Nuggets offense is simply being suffocated.

The Thunder reestablished themselves as a good defensive team after the Kendrick Perkins trade but this is just ridiculous. The Nuggets were universally praised for their ball movement and team play after the Carmelo Anthony trade but against OKC in these three games, they just haven’t found any sort of rhythm. Really the best they looked was the opening minutes of Game 1 where they started 7-7 from the field. After that, they’re shooting close to under 40 percent.

What’s been the big deal? Why have the Thunder stifled Denver’s high-powered, balanced attack? I think it’s pretty simple. OKC has done two things: slowed the Nuggets down and let them run their offense.

What do I mean by the second one? I think it’s been a subtle plan by the Thunder to allow the Nuggets to try and run their usual stuff. The Nuggets love to work inside-out and run weakside screens to free up shooters, while also using penetration to score at the rim. The Thunder haven’t necessarily tried to shut that down. The reason being because Oklahoma City knows it can stop what the Nuggets are good at.

Look at the numbers. Denver has attempted 80 shots at the rim in these three games (26.6 per game). By comparison, OKC has taken only 56. Denver has taken 25 shots in the paint (OKC 26). Where Denver isn’t getting shots is in the mid-range where its only taken 64.

So OKC is letting Denver get shots inside, but here’s the interesting part: the Nuggets are shooting just 58 percent at the rim and only 28 percent inside the paint. Absolutely nothing is easy for them right now. Between Serge Ibaka’s giant paw swinging at everything tossed up inside and Kendrick Perkins’ pushing people down everywhere, scoring in the paint is not easy versus the Thunder.

Perk’s foul on Wilson Chandler to start Game 2 said it all. You won’t walk to the rim against us. During the regular season, Denver shot 60 percent at the rim and 38 percent inside the paint. In terms of mid-range, the Nuggets haven’t been that much off their normal numbers. The 3-point line though, is another story. During the series so far, the Nuggets are shooting just 30.9 percent from 3. From the non-corner spots, just 29 percent. And like I said, this is a team that loves its 3-point shot.

What’s been so impressive is how the Thunder have been able to plug the paint and contest everything inside, while also recovering on shooters. That’s the gift of Perk, really. He handles Nene one-on-one and everyone else stays home on their shooter. Look at Ty Lawson. He hit 10-11 from deep in a game the last week of the season. So far this series, he’s only taken four 3-pointers. Danilo Gallinari is just 3-9. Raymond Felton, 2-10. Even with his little streak to end Game 3, J.R. Smith is only 4-13.

Like I said, the Thunder have sort of embraced what the Nuggets do well and just stopped them from doing it well. Scott Brooks saw that the matchups favored his team and instead of trying to outsmart George Karl with some genius adjustment, he just put his guys out there to stop Denver from what it does.

The Thunder’s defense is the reason this series is 3-0. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook won Game 1. The defense took 2 and 3 pretty much entirely. I re-watched the fourth quarter from Game 3 and it’s just unbelievable how confused the Nuggets look in trying to run their offense. There is just no open man to be found anywhere. Everything is contested. Everything comes after three or four perimeter passes that lead no where.

OKC held Denver without a point for almost five minutes in Game 3. And quietly on the other end scored a basket here and made a free throw there. The lead suddenly was eight with four minutes to go. That’s what good defense does and that’s the reason people talk about it winning things. And right now, the Thunder’s playing the kind of defense that can win things.

The pace of this series so far is the fastest paced series in the playoffs at 93.2. It is 5 points higher than the current playoff average. Yes it is down 2.5 from Denver's regular season average but is 0.5 higher than the Thunder's regular season average and a 1 point higher than the 2nd fastest series and 1 point higher than the regular season average.

The main reasons Denver has been close 2 out of 3 games is the large number of at the rim shots they are getting (a higher % of shots at the rim than any other playoff team) and also near the top on FTAs gained. These are the best shots out there, especially for this Denver team right now. If they are allowing it and feeling good about this specifically. or other are, I'd say that is ignoring the quantity and efficiency and potential harm of those opponent possessions used inside. If it does not cause significant harm in this series, a similar trend could hurt in the next one(s).

Chas :@DJ 7Garnett doesn’t use up low post possessions though. He’s notorious for passing up open shots and not going in to iso situations. “move the ball!” is what he’s always thinking.

But he commands the ball, i know Garnette doesn't post up, he does at least once or twice a game. You gotta admit though, hes pretty good at "moving the ball" for a big guy. Point is, if you we're going to pass it to a player down low, or to a player thats one of the front court players, it was always Garnette. He wouldn't venture more than 18 feet, and sometimes only stay within 10.

Perkins Game Face :@DJ 7I think it was a bad basketball play. If it had worked out then we luck out in the pass being caught and getting the bucket or running time off. Still doesn’t mean it was a good move or the right play. Another play to look at was the one where Serge scored instead of running out some clock. I think the announcers were trying to make a big deal out of Serge dunking the ball when he caught it from KD instead of running with it to the other side of the court. I was actually glad he did cause I could imagine him trying to pass it back to someone else instead of waiting to get fouled and turning the ball over. That would’ve been a disaster….

Yeah, it was, but like i said half of us would have been like "WOW GREAT PASS", but i no i agree Ibaka should've(im glad he did) dunk it, if given the oppurtinity. I much rather him get those for sure two points then get fouled, or turn the ball over from pressure.

I think it was a bad basketball play. If it had worked out then we luck out in the pass being caught and getting the bucket or running time off. Still doesn't mean it was a good move or the right play. Another play to look at was the one where Serge scored instead of running out some clock. I think the announcers were trying to make a big deal out of Serge dunking the ball when he caught it from KD instead of running with it to the other side of the court. I was actually glad he did cause I could imagine him trying to pass it back to someone else instead of waiting to get fouled and turning the ball over. That would've been a disaster....

@DJ 7come on, even if Ibaka had read the pass right, he wouldn't have caught it. In football terms, Ibaka is a defensive back in the sense of "he can't catch, that's why he plays d-back instead of receiver"

girlballer :@Chas That’s exactly my point. If he could get/stay healthy for an entire season, and learn a little finesse, he could easily get 10 points per game on put-backs and wide-open layups that other teams defense are going to have to give him occasionally due to the double-teaming that KD is going to require of them! No disagreement about Ibaka though, he’s going to get his too!

Yeah agreed, KD looks like hes learning to pass the ball to, i mean 6 assist, and then 5 in the game before. If Russ gets a PnR from Perk and he drives in deep, the Defense HAS TO BODY HIM UP with whoever is behind him, and whoever is in front. Thing is Russ is so good at getting to the rim and finishing he still scores. I promise you though Perkins is wide open 9 times out of 10, problem though, Perkins doesn't have good hands with passes like that. I've seen Russ pass it to him, and he either drops the ball, or takes a second to control it.

Perkins Game Face :How about Perk please no more awful inbound passes? I had no idea what was going on when he made that pass. I was so stunned I didn’t have time to be mad lol. I chalk it up to trying to do too much when all he had to do was get it in to KD or Russ. Thank god it worked out though. If that game had ended up like the Golden State game in going to OT but we lose I would’ve been sick to my stomach for days…..

Lol if Ibaka had read the pass right, he would have gotten the clear lay up, or been fouled and we would have praised Perkins for throwing the "Good Pass". LOL its one of this 50/50 ones.

@ChasThat's exactly my point. If he could get/stay healthy for an entire season, and learn a little finesse, he could easily get 10 points per game on put-backs and wide-open layups that other teams defense are going to have to give him occasionally due to the double-teaming that KD is going to require of them! No disagreement about Ibaka though, he's going to get his too!

Chas :@girlballerWell in 09/10 he put up 10.1 in 78 starts playing 27.6 min/gm. That might be his best possible production though and I think we can all see why. He doesn’t seem like the big put back kind of guy since he lacks the athleticism. Serge will probably continue to do more of that.

Thing is Perkins offensive game is HORRID, BUT he was playing along side Kevin Garnette, and even though we don't need him to score, he'll get to be able to command the ball more, and hopefully develop his game because of it. In Boston, he never i mean ALMOST NEVER got the ball and posted up, so when he did that here for the first time i was thinking "Perkins what the eff are you doing?", but he scored and i was stunned.

The thing is how will we know if and when he's 100%? What if he's already close to or is there? As long as he doesn't suffer another devestating injury then I'm cool with him how he is outside of getting into better shape. The man has his limitations and thinking that because he may not be fully healthy he hasn't reached some peak we think he can reach might be unfair to him.

How about Perk please no more awful inbound passes? I had no idea what was going on when he made that pass. I was so stunned I didn't have time to be mad lol. I chalk it up to trying to do too much when all he had to do was get it in to KD or Russ. Thank god it worked out though. If that game had ended up like the Golden State game in going to OT but we lose I would've been sick to my stomach for days.....

@gr8ball83He's honestly pretty good dribbling up the court (a little chaotic yes) but when he backs down it's just atrocious. That's what I've been trying to figure out. Maybe be he has to crouch when he's back down?

@girlballerWell in 09/10 he put up 10.1 in 78 starts playing 27.6 min/gm. That might be his best possible production though and I think we can all see why. He doesn't seem like the big put back kind of guy since he lacks the athleticism. Serge will probably continue to do more of that.

I only logged in to add to the "Amen chorus" about Perk. I totally agree with all of you, that he doesn't appear to be anywhere near 100%, and what's more, I would venture to guess that the Thunder's superior coaching and training staff may very well be able to maximize his game above and beyond what was his PREVIOUS 100%. How exciting would it be to be able to rely on a fully healthy Perkins to put in 10-12 pts on easy put-backs and post-moves? Exciting enough for a NBA Championship if you ask me! Darnell questioned if Perkins even COULD dunk on his blog last week... sounded like a challenge to me, although if I'm Darnell, I don't think I would be calling Mr. Perkins out for anything! lol

Thunderman :New guy here. Did anyone read bleacher report article about “stern and NBA shoot themselves in foot again” the bitter Seattle fans are laughable. I know it would be painful but how is sitting behind the thunder in yellow and green and holding up conspiracy signs going to get “their” team back. (I was able to post the first comment on that one) Anyway we need big D tonight! Denver ain’t going to roll over. Desmond Mason was on Sports Blitz last night and agreed that the Thunder are THE team to beat in the West! Awesome! Go thunder

I love Mason, and yeah it makes them look bad, and instead of winning Sterns, or any future Owner of the leagues sympathy, it may just piss them off, and say good riddance .

Heysloth :That’s strange that the Thunder is better without Perk on the floor. I admit that Nene and hsi ability to put the ball on the floor and shoot those 15 ft jumpers has given Perk troubles this series but its one of the stats that doesn’t really seem like it should be right. I wonder how much impact that first quarter of game 1 had on those numbers. If I remembr correctly he was out there for the big Nugs run and sat during most of the comeback in the second….

Small Ball actually works against Denver, Nene really does give Perk a hard time, so when Nene, and Martin are on the floor toghether its hard for Perk. Remember even though Ibaka is guarding Martin 80% of the time, he's also watching to see if he can swat at a shot, so he's not paying full attention, which sometimes leads to Martin being open, and ibaka being lost for looking to block a shot, which leads to Perkins contesting Martins shot, that then leaves Nene open to rebound(which in this series he's had about 4, or 5 tip ins because of this). It sort of has to come with the cost of Ibaka blocking shots. I much rather he block shots though.

Perk, and Nazr will do a much better job against Memphis/San Antonio, since their front court players aren't as atheltic.

New guy here. Did anyone read bleacher report article about "stern and NBA shoot themselves in foot again" the bitter Seattle fans are laughable. I know it would be painful but how is sitting behind the thunder in yellow and green and holding up conspiracy signs going to get "their" team back. (I was able to post the first comment on that one) Anyway we need big D tonight! Denver ain't going to roll over. Desmond Mason was on Sports Blitz last night and agreed that the Thunder are THE team to beat in the West! Awesome! Go thunder

Brooks has done a fairly good job so far. I think he needs his bad rotations to start, and end the game won't work in the playoffs.

@TempBoy BrandonPerk isn't 100% healthy. You guys are right, healthy Perk wouldn't lay it up, he would have dunked.

@justin

Justin is entirely correct, Perk can't post up on Nene, or Martin. They'll cause him to turn it over, or just waste time off the clock, we should ONLY pass the ball to Perk is he's overmatching who ever is guarding him. (Anderson is way to skinny to keep Perk from moving in.)

When we face Memphis/San Antonio, Perk won't ever get the ball unless he's being guarded by a weaker opponet.

@TempBoy BrandonI agree, watching live you can see him favoring a leg occasionally, and even a slight limp at times, I think he's still working his way back. I'm pretty excited to see him fully healthy next year.

That's strange that the Thunder is better without Perk on the floor. I admit that Nene and hsi ability to put the ball on the floor and shoot those 15 ft jumpers has given Perk troubles this series but its one of the stats that doesn't really seem like it should be right. I wonder how much impact that first quarter of game 1 had on those numbers. If I remembr correctly he was out there for the big Nugs run and sat during most of the comeback in the second....

Bryan :Nice writeup. I listen to the Sports Animal a lot because I’m in the car too much (quality has come up a lot BTW). And one thing I keep hearing from callers is that they are concerned Perkins does not contribute on offense. Some people honestly think he is hurting the team lol.Obviously, we all know that’s crazy. It hurts to watch him finish inside sometimes, but people simply underestimate Perk’s contributions on both sides of the floor (cough Ainge, cough).

You gotta remember, ALOT of people in Oklahoma are still new to the sport, or just berly getting into it. So to them, if a guy can't score, it may mean he sucks. Remember this is still football land. I agree though, the quality from the Animal has actually goten a LITTLE better, maybe one of them saw our comments on here. They still continue to state the obvious though.

I think Perkins getting some occasional post plays isn't all bad, even if he uses the time with ball to back down a defender, then kick, he's allowing our offense to move without the ball and perhaps cut or run a screen. And it's a joy to see him back down just about anyone.

I usually play post (not all that well, and I'm scrawny) and I can say the turnaround shot close to the rim is one of the hardest to make. It's always tough to bunny it in especially in traffic.

Now that he's in Boston I can look bak and appreciate Greens valiant post play against bigger guys as acts of bravery and occasional brilliance. But I don't miss it that much.

I think some credit needs to go where credit is due...Brooks has done a good job this series. He's been a bit of a punching bag on here at times and the consensus on the board seemed to be that he would be overmatched by Karl but, so far, Brooks has made the right moves. The defensive call on the last play of Game 3 was absolutely brilliant -- Brooks guessed Karl's move perfectly, called an all-out switch, and Denver got nothing in 10.5 seconds.

His knee may be good to go, and his rehab may have kept his muscles ready, but it's just hard to trust your body again after an injury like that. It'll probably be next season before he feels as comfortable with it as he did before the injury.

I like a lighter Perk just fine. He's still big/strong enough at his new weight, so as long as he's comfortable with it, it's probably a good thing.

I think Perk's putbacks and rolls will be better once he trusts his knee 100%. Plus, you can always make Perk a facilitator out of the post if you commit to running motions sets. Probably something a team could add and work on during the off season or training camp.

1. Do you guys think Perk is 100%? He looks fairly slow out there and doesn't seem to be getting much lift. I know that's just Perk anyways, but was he any faster or did he have any more jumps pre-injury?

2. Also, I think it's been said he's lost weight since the injury. Do we feel this is a good thing or a bad thing?

What about Nazr? I just recently got nostalgic thinking about Green's post-up offense. He used to do that pretty well when he was anchoring the 2nd team. It just seems like it changes the look of offense so much that it would kinda mess with the other team's heads and throw them off defensively. I'd like to see one of our 4's or 5's do it, and I agree that Perk and Ibaka are not really the ones to do it. I don't think Collison can do it either, so that leaves Nazr.

justin :Perkins will never be a good post scorer, mainly because he’s so turnover prone that even if he shoots a high percentage it’s negated by the turnovers.Put backs, cutting to the basket, set screens… keep it simple for him. Going to Perk in the low post unless it’s a clear mismatch (i.e. against Chris Andersen who he can walk to the rim) is not a good idea.

Couldn't have said it any better. I think if more defenders pulled the chair out on Perk when he posted up he'd fall over a bunch of times. Cutting to the rim after he sets a screen is perfect. He's being left alone after he sets a screen a lot. Now whether or not he converts after he gets the pass is another thing but that's a much better play to me than the ball in the post....

I think you have to let him work in the post a few times per game. It's not like his footwork is that bad and it's not like he can't back his man down. He just doesn't have the touch. Maybe it's something he can improve on. Maybe not.

I'm guessing he can if he's allowed some trial and error.... but then again maybe Boston thought the same thing.

Perkins will never be a good post scorer, mainly because he's so turnover prone that even if he shoots a high percentage it's negated by the turnovers.

Put backs, cutting to the basket, set screens... keep it simple for him. Going to Perk in the low post unless it's a clear mismatch (i.e. against Chris Andersen who he can walk to the rim) is not a good idea.

I wasn't looking for a consensus so it's all good. Just saying that I don't like seeing Perk with the ball in the post. I think it would be better if people were making cuts around him or spacing out for outside shots when he has it there. Otherwise everyone is just standing around watching him back down who ever is guarding him. Not saying to make him the next Thabo on offense and ignore him but find better ways for him to be effective on that end of the court. He's too prone to missing short shots or layups or turnovers. Besides that I love the guy haha......

I'd love to see our coaches work on Perk's post moves. With his size and muscle, he's always able to get as close to the basket as he wants. Think about every time he gets it in the post-- he dribbles and backs his man down all the way to the basket. He's the only one on our team that can do that. And with his reach, he's usually able to get his shots off. Unfortunately, he rarely makes them. Obviously, I'm sure the Boston staff probably worked on it, but maybe they figured they didn't need to with everyone else being a scoring threat. I just think that if he could finish and score in the post, that would make us nearly unstoppable.

@Perkins Game FaceI like to see him get the ball down there a couple of times per game, it balances things out and keeps everyone honest. even if he only scores 35-40% of the time, at least he's making someone guard him. Now hes not the type of guy who should touch the ball every possession in the post, but a few times a game is appropriate IMO.

Perkins Game Face :I get frustrated when I see Perk get the ball in the post but I’m more frustrated with who’s passing him the ball than with him. He should only get the ball close to the basket off PnR and only if his man leaves him alone. Giving it to him down low is just so irresponsible for as limited as his offensive game is. It’s like giving the ball to Serge with the shot clock about to run out. Why and how does that happen? Like Royce said in the post game notes for game 3, Serge has no idea whether or not the clock is about to run out so don’t pass it to him with 6 seconds left…..